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NOVEMBER FLASH NEWSLETTER
FAR November Luncheon
"Getting Things Done in Washington DC: What does 2018 look like?"
Long time DC Councilman Jack Evans set the stage for viewing the future for living and working in Washington, DC by tracing the city's recent history from a struggling, deserted downtown area in 1991 with a B- rating on Wall Street to what he described as "the most dynamic city in the US today" with 680,000 residents and an influx of an additional 1000 people a month. This turnabout came as a result of hard work and some difficult and unpopular decisions.
Before 1991 there was no Capital One Arena, no baseball stadium and a run- down Convention Center. With the development of each of these and, more recently, the Wharf Area, Arena Stage and the Waterfront, the city has become safer, cleaner and more vibrant. It currently holds $2 ½ billion in reserves and has no unfunded pension liability.
Evans did not avoid a discussion of the urban problems that persist. At the top of his list were the failing schools with improved, but still unacceptable graduation rates. Next are issues of housing, particularly the need for affordable housing and options for the homeless. And, while crime is down, there are still shootings reported in the district daily.
When asked what keeps him awake at night, Evans was quick to state: first - the debt. Not surprisingly next came the need to continue long-delayed maintenance on Metro. Coming to the Metro board in 2015, Evans learned that no maintenance had been performed since 1999 and the system faced total disrepair with a record of a dismal 70% reliability. He estimates that from $15 to $25 billion will be needed over the next ten years to meet acceptable safety and reliability standards and to support the increased ridership expected from the Silver Line. Where will we get the money? Evans proposed a 1% sales tax that will address these issues, reduce automobile congestion and make our air cleaner.
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